No. 25 MState Softball Takes 11-3 Win Over Santa Clara To Split Opening Day In Hawaii

Thursday, March 5

Honolulu, Hawaii

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

11-4

Florida Gulf Coast

21-4

Florida Gulf Coast

Mississippi State

Maroon-Out The Tigers As Bulldogs Host No. 20 LSU In Three-Game SEC Softball Series

No. 25 MState Softball Takes 11-3 Win Over Santa Clara To Split Opening Day In Hawaii

March 05, 2009 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics (vs. Florida Gulf Coast)
? Official Statistics (vs. Florida Gulf Coast) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (vs. Santa Clara)
? Official Statistics (vs. Santa Clara) (PDF)

HONOLULU, Hawaii ? Chelsea Bramlett went 5-for-9 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored, and sophomore Courtney Nesbit homered and drove in a career-best four runs as the 25th-ranked Mississippi State softball team split the opening day of action at the Pepsi Malihini Aloha Tournament on the University of Hawaii campus in Honolulu.

Nesbit's home run and four RBI powered the Bulldogs (12-4) to an 11-3 win over Santa Clara (1-10) after surrendering three home runs to Florida Gulf Coast (21-4) in an 8-3 setback in the day's opener. Freshman Ka'ili Smith added three doubles, including two against FGCU, in her return to her home state.

“We didn't play well today, but we did a nice job of coming back in the second game after dropping the opener,” MState head coach Jay Miller said. “Elizabeth (Woolven) threw well in both games for us, but we have to do a better job of keeping the ball in the park. Hopefully we can come back tomorrow and play the way we are capable of playing.”

Woolven preserved the win in the nightcap for her first save of the season. Senior Kelsey Nurnberg moved to 7-0 on the year as she picked up the victory over the Broncos.

Sophomore Ali Bainbridge added three hits and a pair of RBI against Santa Clara, while Sammie Jo Bailey drove in three runs on a pair of hits in the game.

The Dogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first as Bainbridge doubled home Bramlett and Allie Heon.

MState pushed the lead to 5-0 with three more runs in the third. Bainbridge kicked off the three-run burst with a two-out double, her second of the game. She scored as freshman Courtney Moore reached on one of SCU's six errors in the game. Nesbit added the other two runs as she blasted a towering home run over the wall in left field.

Despite a strong rally from SCU, the Bulldogs made the lead hold up to give Nurnberg the win. The senior from Ankeny, Iowa, tossed three and one-third innings, giving up three runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Woolven allowed one hit over the final three innings to notch her first save of the season.

Santa Clara cut the lead to 5-3 in the fourth as Noelani Ho'opi'i drove in a pair of runs and later stole home. The Broncos threatened again the next inning, loading the bases with no outs. Woolven, however, got a strikeout and a double play to end the inning.

The Bulldogs answered in the sixth, scoring Nesbit, who reached on an error, on a Sammie Jo Bailey single. State added five more runs in the seventh to seal the 11-3 win. Heon reached on an error to open the frame and advanced on a Bainbridge single through the left side of the infield. After an error on a Moore ground ball loaded the bases, Nesbit lined a single to center that scored Heon and Bainbridge and put the Bulldogs up 8-3.

Sammie Jo Bailey made it a 10-3 game two batters later with her single off the Santa Clara shortstop's glove, and her sister Jessie, who reached on a fielder's choice, capped the scoring as she came home on a wild pitch.

Briana Knight collected two hits for the Broncos. Jenna Fong fell to 0-6 on the year as she surrendered 11 runs, just three earned, on 12 hits in six and one-third innings.

In the day's opening game, the Eagles jumped out to a 2-0, first-inning lead on a Jessica Paez two-run home run, but the Bulldogs cut into the lead with a run in the home half of the frame. Bramlett, who went 3-for-4 in the contest, beat out a bunt single to lead off the inning. After stealing second and third, she scored two batters later on a Jessie Bailey ground ball that was misplayed by the FGCU second baseman.

State took its first lead of the game with two outs in the second. Smith got the rally started with her first of two doubles in the game. After Brittany Gates reached on a bunt that was misplayed by the third baseman, Bramlett slapped a bouncer up the middle that cleared the bases and put State on top.

The Bulldog pitchers made the lead hold up until a four-run fourth put the Eagles ahead for good. After a Cheyenne Jenks double and Jessica Carter single opened the inning, Nurnberg gave way to freshman Lindsey Dunlap. The first batter Dunlap faced, Courtney Platt, tied the game with a bloop single over the infield, and Desiree Miller, who went 2-for-3 on the afternoon, capped the inning with a three-run home run.

Dunlap suffered the loss to fall to 5-2 on the year. The Hueytown, Ala., freshman surrendered four runs on three hits in an inning of relief work. Nurnberg allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits over the opening three and one-third. Sophomore Elizabeth Woolven held FGCU to just three hits the final two and two-thirds innings.

Jenks pushed the lead to 8-3 in the fifth as she capped her two-hit, two-RBI afternoon with a two-run home run. Dana Frantz earned the win for the Eagles. She moved to 6-1 as she surrendered three runs, one earned, on eight hits with four strikeouts in the complete-game effort.

The Bulldogs return to action on Friday. State opens the day against Oregon State at 7 p.m. CST before facing the host Rainbow Wahine at 9 p.m. CST.